Closed Smiðja

[Velho]

༺༉❁ Spring 14 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

Velho had taken to bringing Æhti along with him each time he traveled to perform a Ferriment, using him as something of a guard. Many, Æhti included, found this strange, as it was perfectly possible for Velho to bring with him another Æld'Norai as a guard, and many within his employ were both perfectly competent enough and happy to do so…and yet, he insisted on taking Æhti.

Nevertheless, doing so did put the boy at risk. While his skill in Abation was certainly formidable, that wouldn't protect him from being surprised or overwhelmed and Ælheim's forests were brimming with beasts of all sorts. The boy also did not have Æcturnis like all ælves did, so if he did get injured, Velho would have to stop what he was doing in order to assist and then heal him. As such, it behooved the Ferrier to get his little pet armor in order to protect him. Eventually, he'd have such armor inscribed with Abrogation in order to ward him against Ghosts, but one step at a time– the armor had to be made, first.

When Velho brought this up with Æhti, the boy mentioned that the girl they'd met some few days before during the Ferriment in the forests near Rømskog had boasted of great skill as a smith. Velho was skeptical at first, biased in favor of picking Æld'Norai crafters.

"Master– think of it this way. Personal Arcana is very limited to us Fælnir, so most of us with minds for it take up the Practices; our craftsmen can make marvels. You've even seen it yourself– remember my ornamental blade you called 'consummate'? Cousin made it– that's a fine piece of Fælniri work," the young man reasoned.

Velho blinked at him, leaning back in a chair with his elbows on both of the armrests, hands together with only his fingertips touching.

"Hm…fair enough points, I suppose. We can ask after her, if that's what you'd desire…though we'll look elsewhere if her work does not pass muster," the Ferrier conceded the point.

Why he was acquiescing to the demands of a human boy he could not say, and yet– here he was, doing just that.

•════════════════════• Sometime Later ❀​

After asking around, people genuinely had lauded Abraia's skill when they referred Æhti to her home– in particular for her age. Velho had opted to stay behind in the inn within which they were staying, reasoning that Æhti was grown enough to shop for himself…that, and he wanted to rest before they set off to perform another Ferriment on the outskirts of a village not too far away.

It was early in the evening when Æhti arrived at Abraia's doorstep; he could only hope she was there. Her abode was quite nice for one Fælnir, but he imagined it must've been inherited from her parents given what he learnt of her family from asking around. The young man knocked firmly three times, feeling that such an amount was good enough.

 

[Abraia]

The day was nice. Fair, chilly, quiet. It was the kind of day that made the owner of the Arcane Anvil want to laze around all day. She was fast asleep on a hammock she had put up in her workshop.

A lot had changed for her in the past year. She had become a Crested, had helped a dragon fulfil his dream. Manning a shop was about one of the most boring things in comparison. It was better than working for an elf though. She had worked a deal out with the fertility dragon to run this operation so she was in charge even if everything technically belonged to him. He was nice enough to let her keep all the money AND come/go as she pleased. She thought he liked her. As much as a being like him COULD like someone, anyway.

When Aehti came to the shop he knocked and there was a sound within. Natea, a slender and traditionally attractive woman in her mid twenties, slid the door open. She looked like she too had been napping.

She appraised the customer while removing crust from her eyes. Not an elf, not anyone she recognized. Those types were usually a waste of time but she welcomed him all the same. Sometimes they represented important people who didn't have time to show up in person.

"Welcome!!! What can I help you with? We make everything to order, from weapons to armor to artifacts and all our wares can be aesthetically modified. If you have a project that interests our crafter, that is."

She bowed deeply then righted herself. She waved her hands around at the walls which contained examples of Abraia's work. Swords with dragon etchings that danced along them or glowed. Armor that looked like it was fit to be worn into battle in a legendary duel.

None of the displays were actually worth using. They were mostly failed experiments that still looked good because almost everything the Crested made turned out looking divine, if she wanted them to. There was even a disclaimer on the walls because so many had wanted to buy their apparent stock of equipment.

Besides the displays, the room was simple. Some chairs to sit and wait, piles of paperwork, a dusty floor that hadn't been swept in days.

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ Spring 14 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

A complete stranger opening the door was to be expected; if Abraia was working full time as a craftsman, she'd need somebody to handle clients for her in order to save time. In this case, she looked like she'd just woken up– but that's fair. Nocturnal as Ælheim's people were, now was about the time when folks would be dragging themselves from their slumber. Velho had slunk back into his room, even, just as Æhti was leaving, presumably to go back to sleep.

"Thank you," he said with a polite smile to the shopkeeper's welcome– though his eye immediately wandered from her to the varying crafts displayed on the walls.

If nothing else, Abraia could surely make beautiful work.

"I work as a guard and was sent here by my master to commission armor be made for myself to wear," he began, not entirely sure how to phrase the dynamic between himself and Velho.

"Ah…the sky's the limit in terms of budget; my master is Velho fyn'Seiðr Hespæros– only child of the Witch of Weaving Spiders," he'd say, almost sounding a bit sheepish.

Natea would recognize the title he spoke as the founder of Hespæria herself, if Velho's surname and epithet did not imply that already. Æhti was a humble sort and didn't like to brag, so trying to portray the importance of himself by virtue of pulling his master's rank felt strange to him– especially because the arrangement was still less than a year old.

"Though right now he'd just like the armor itself be made; I can return over time to have it upgraded to suit our needs, or commission something new. Can…can that be done…?" Though he tried to sound less unsure of himself, he failed.

The young man was not used to speaking as if he had a lot of money.

"I'll give more details about the style and the like once I know whether or not Abraia would be interested," he added with a small smile.

 

[Abraia]

Natea's eyes opened real wide when the man mentioned his master's name. She waved her hand dismissively at the end of his words.

"Oh she will take your commission or I'll pull her hair out. Just give me a sec."

Natea slid another door and in the distance there would be some sounds of two women speaking and then one of them shouting. A thud, scrambling, the clang of metal hitting metal. Then, finally the door slid open.

The Abraia that stepped out of the door would look much different than the one that Aehti saw in the forest. While the overall structure of her body and face were the same, nearly everything else was wildly different.

Just days ago Abraia had taken on the appearance of a simple herb gatherer. It was what she thought a gatherer ought to have looked like and had naturally shifted to look more simple, unassuming, dull. Not the most aesthetically pleasing to most but the most aesthetically relevant.

In her own home she was another animal. She looked as exquisite as any human model had any right to look. All except her hair which was messy from whatever had gone on in the back despite being longer, blacker, smoother. When she saw Aehti and caught her reflection in a piece of armor she blushed and combed her hair with her fingers.

"Sorry. I didn't know it was YOU." Things started making sense in her head. She remembered Aehti telling her his master was someone important but she had not gotten either of their names.

Natea looked puzzled but she left to go tidy up the mess in the other part of the house.

"So you did end up finding me. What's your name again? Natea told me I HAVE to make you some armor. I've never seen her act like that before so I guess your master is a lot more important than I thought. What did you have in mind? Hopefully something interesting since I've been bored lately."

Aehti would probably be able to notice she did not seem to care about money as much as she did making things.

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ Spring 14 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

Æhti blinked, almost embarrassed at the rush he'd caused Natea to go into– but again, this was fair; currying favor with any of the fyn'Seiðr line was valuable in and of itself. He didn't say anything though, just stood there like an idiot– waiting.

When Abraia did come out of the back after a strange series of sounds– again, he felt embarrassed and slightly bad if he were to have been at all the cause of such commotion– she looked very different. Æhti squinted, his expression shifting to puzzled before he realized he was staring, then he adjusted accordingly, making his demeanor as close to cordial as he could in the moment.

She must have some personal magic, then. He knew there was one that a lot of the more artistic craftsmen seemed to seek out, but he couldn't quite recall the name of it nor how exactly it worked– merely that such a thing existed and was utilized by Æld'Norai and Fælnir alike. It seemed that the Æld'Norai tended to leave such craftsmen alone, too, as if the ælves considered the beauty such people brought into the world to be beneficial one way or another. And this made sense, vain as a race the Æld'Norai were; they did appreciate artists, even amongst the chattel.

"Yes, sorry about forgetting to introduce myself and my master properly," Æhti chuckled awkwardly.

"I'm Æhti, and my master's name is Velho fyn'Seiðr Hespæros," he clarified.

"But the commission I'd like is armor of chainmail and hide, in a more traditional Fælnir style if possible? I was told I could ask for whatever aesthetically, as long as I don't ask for something that would offer inadequate protection, so he said." He hoped such a request wouldn't bore her too much.

: This is the sort of thing Æhti is asking for.

 

[Abraia]

"Nice to meet you Aehti."

Abraia stared at him when he gave her his order. She looked to the works on the wall then back to him again. She hadn't gotten an order for some plain gear in a long time probably because she stopped doing them.

"You don't want anything special? No special colors, effects, no nothing? Tell you what, if price is a concern I won't even charge you for something simple…"

She had obvious eagerness to go wild with the aesthetics.

"…but if you want something basic I suppose I could."

She walked over to one of the display pieces that would be somewhat similar to what Aehti had in mind.
"I could do something like this? But with hide instead of metal on these parts. What kind of material would you like by the way? Any specific metals and hides?"

She was used to reading all this info on a piece of paper beforehand.

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ Spring 14 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

"Hmm…I've…never been one for ostentation myself, but now that I have the opportunity…" Æhti trailed off, pondering.

He wasn't quite sure the extent of Abraia's magic, but given what examples he could see, she was clearly at least quite flexible with aesthetics.

"I suppose I'm attached to function over form, but I would appreciate you enhancing the aesthetic of any material so that it maintains a like-new appearance no matter how long I have it," he finally settled on this. Æhti liked the aesthetic of quality, but was afraid of attracting unwanted attention to himself if he went with anything too flashy.

When she walked over to an example along the lines of simpler, more traditional Fælnir armors, "aye, like that," he nodded.

"But as for materials, I suppose the finest that you have on hand? Steel, bear hide and the like. I recall you saying you're an Alchemist, so for future upgrades I can come back," he clarified.

Truthfully, though, he wasn't quite sure about how any of this worked– his only desire was that he would be protected from harm while they're out wandering in the wilderness.

 

[Abraia]

Abraia let out a low hum as she thought about what was being asked. The effect was one she had not willed upon a piece of gear before.

"I don't know if it's possible, but I will certainly try. Yes, steel is the best I have in stock. I have been meaning to find a reliable source for better metals but that's easier said than done. And of course I can always make modifications later."

"I should take your measurements then." She would have gotten Natea to do this next part but since she didn't mind Aehti at all she decided to do it instead.

She held up a long string and a pair of scissors and if she was allowed, would cut several lengths.

"It should not take me too long to make something like this. A week tops, maybe sooner. Will you still be in town or should I have it delivered? I'm pretty good at making things fit properly the first time so you don't HAVE to come back."

 

[Vicissitude]

༺༉❁ Spring 14 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

Æhti was sort of surprised to hear nobody had requested something appear 'timeless' in a literal sense before, but she did look young; might've not been working by commissions for an incredibly long period of time yet.

"Well, as long as you'll try, I'm sure I'll be happy with the result," he responded, voice sounding overall reassuring.

And when she said she needed to take his measurements, Æhti acquiesced, following her instructions to make the process go by quickly enough. He'd expected to have to do this, so the clothing he'd worn over there was thin enough to not hinder the measurement process. He was not the tallest of men, nor was he the shortest, but he was broad around the shoulders and otherwise very well built.

He listened and nodded to her time estimate, thinking about his and Velho's schedule. "Hmm…we actually might still be in town. Ferriers are a rarity and most are stubborn about traveling, so there's a few other sites my master said we will be visiting before we take our leave. Otherwise, sending it by his home in Thokkmyrr would do just fine," he answered.

It was very possible they'd be here for another couple weeks; Scourges hated to travel due to their fragility and therefore areas that lacked one tended to stack up work over time.

 

[Abraia]

"Actually, two weeks just to be safe. One is probably too ambitious. If you haven't come back by then then I'll arrange a delivery."

Abraia was going to send her visitor away when Natea came back in. She was the one with the customer service skills.

"Thank you for visiting the Arcane Forge!"

As soon as Aehti left there would be more sounds of shouting inside the house. If he stuck around long enough, he would see Natea walking out looking very stressed out with a list of things she needed to go fetch. Abraia seemed to be just as bad to work with as her former elf boss.

Abraia would get started on the project as soon as her employee left. She had chain already. Making chain was a pain in the ass which is why she made lots of it at a time. It was still work because she had to cut and attach in the exact pattern she needed.

Natea knew she should stay away when Abraia was working. They did not see each other for the better part of a week. When Natea did venture into the workshop she brought the best hide she could get, bear, and got another list of things that her boss needed.

A week flew by like nothing. The chain took that long to properly put in place and then there was the other bits of metal that needed to be fitted and shaped into the exact shape. The anvil got lots of abuse. Abraia finished with most of her work by the beginning of the second week and dedicated the remaining time to making it more polished.

As much as she tried to stop herself, she could not help but putting a magical touch into the armor. She knew he wanted it to look kind of plain for reasons she didn't understand. She could still make it look good and new just like he wanted. Anyone who looked at it would think that it was fresh off the rack.

There were other touches she did to the work that were not visible. The inside of the armor would feel cozy. When she put her hand there she felt like she was touching a cushion. She also made it so it would make about half as less sound when moved. The second part was not intentional but she had gotten annoyed at how the chain moving had sounded over two weeks.

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ Spring 14 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

Æhti nodded to her amended time estimation. "Take all the time you need, no need to rush on my behalf," he said with a wan smile.

Really, he was the sort to feel bad if anyone rushed much of anything for his benefit.

And when Natea bid him farewell, he nodded to her, too. "My pleasure," the words said as he turned to leave.

•════════════════════• Spring 28 year 123 of the third age ❀​

Two weeks later precisely, Æhti would return to the Arcane Anvil to check up on his order. Velho had strayed further from Rømskog this time, ferried away to his destination by a young dragon he'd befriended. Normally, Æhti would've gone with, but this particular endeavor was deemed low enough risk that just the dragon's presence would suffice, thus allowing Æhti to pick up his armor while the other two were gone. He was excited to see how it'd turned out, but more so that he would no longer be so at risk of being surprised by the talons of Ælheim's many monsters.

When he arrived, he'd knock on the door again as a way to announce his presence, but he would also try to simply enter the storefront if it were already unlocked. Otherwise, he'd wait.

 

[Abraia]

Aehti would open the door and see Natea coming to get the door. "Welcome back!" she would say. She would never forget the face of someone who was associated with someone so important. The armor that was ordered would be sitting off to the side on a rack. It looked much like the example piece and would hopefully be exactly what Aehti had wanted.

"Shall I fetch Abraia or would you like to go see her in the back? I recall you two knew each other before hand. Or we could settle payment and you can leave with your gear. Feel free to try it on and ask for modifications."

Abraia would be banging on some metal somewhere. She was making more chain to replace all the chain that had been used up in the project. She would not mind being bothered but she also would not mind if Aehti went on his way.

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ Spring 28 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

When Natea approached him, Æhti would smile warmly at her in greeting. "Thank you," his voice matching the look of his face.

Though after he acknowledged her, his attention was drawn pretty quickly onto the finished suit of armor she gestured to. It was exactly what he'd wanted, exuding quality without any excess ostentation– perfect.

"I think I will try it on to make sure it fits, but it looks wonderful," he'd say, appearing pleased.

Like before, he was dressed lightly– a sleeveless tunic and lighter weight cloth pants– making it easier for him to put the armor on and test the fit of each piece. Now of course, this process did take some time, since fastening on armor pieces wasn't the fastest endeavor in the world. Abraia had done a good job adhering to the measurements she'd taken, as he found no flaw in any of it, and it was actually quite a bit more comfortable to wear than he was expecting.

"Huh, and it even feels lighter than I expected; I think I'll wear it out, actually," he'd say.

But as he did this, he did remove the gloves to fish back into the pockets of his pants– likely should've done this before– in order to pull out the banknote, putting them back on afterwards. Written by Velho, it was a cheque for the amount that had been discussed beforehand. Æhit would then hand this off to Natea.

"I think I will say hello to Abraia, at least; I don't want to distract her too much, but still," and with that, he'd nod to Natea and move over to where Abraia was working to restore her stock of chainmail.

In so doing, he noticed that the armor he wore was also a lot quieter than expected; he did appreciate this, too. Æhti had not expected to be at all stealthy wearing armor like this, and while it wasn't silent, this was a marked improvement over his expectations.

"Hey! I just wanted to say thank you– but also, what'd you do to make it so quiet? Is that some sort of magic?" Æhti asked Abraia when close enough.

 

[Abraia]

Natea slid the door open that led to the workshop area. It was not very big and might be cramped to some because there were so many things cluttered. It was an organized clutter if that made sense. Abraia could point out any item's location even if it looked a mess.

Abraia took her eyes off the anvil to look up at who came to bother her. Not Natea so she did not mind. She looked the same as last time but with different eye colors. Red instead of blue. Also her clothes were work clothes.

"I see it fits." She looked at him. It looked beautiful in her eyes. It seemed impossible for anything she made NOT to look that way if she used magic on it.

"I mayyy have used magic on it even though you wanted something simple. And when I do that some things can happen even if I didn't intend it to. I don't remember making it quiet but maybe the sound was annoying me. Now that I think about it that makes sense. But…"

She frowned "what I tried to do was make it unnaturally comfy. I know it must be terrible wearing that heavy thing. Maybe that is why it is quiet? Who knows? It's easier not to think about it too hard"

She nodded her head. "Anyway, your welcome. I hope it serves you well."

She waited to see if he wanted to say anything else or if that was all.

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ Spring 28 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

Æhti figured that she'd manipulated the materials in some way with some sort of magic. It was more that he was interested in figuring out exactly what kind. He knew about all the types of Galdr, and all of the Glamours at least by name, but many of the names of the individual Pacts still escaped him. What she described didn't sound like Galdr and it was reasonable to assume the girl did not have Glamour– so it had to be a Pact then? Or…wild magic…? But what of the nature?

"Ohh, so you did use magic?" He sounded– and looked– curious. "I do appreciate it, and I'm sure your expertise will serve me well."

Still, Æhti would follow that up with another question. "What kind? I'm only all that familiar with Galdr, but I am, admittedly, curious about the other types. Is it a Pact?"

He also knew that one could acquire Pacts by accident or mere happenstance at times. The Godheads and their magics were strange, esoteric things that seemed to manifest all on their own. Some could seemingly chase after a Pact their entire lives and fail, while others would acquire them without trying, without even realizing.

 

[Abraia]

"I did, actually! And it's no problem. This is the only magic I'm capable of and since I use it slowly over a long period of time it does not drain me like other magical abilities might. It's a pact. Someone like me is called Crested. I don't know how it happened but someone close to me noticed my appearance was changing. If I had to summarize it, people like me can look how we want to look and add magical aesthetic properties to things we make. So I cannot make armor stronger but I can make it damn good and comfy."

"I kind of like it."

She looked happy to explain her gift.

"If you don't mind me asking could you tell me what you plan on doing with this armor? Is the important elf you work for sending you into danger?"

She wanted to propose making a weapon to get rid of the old elf but she resisted.

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ Spring 28 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

Abraia's explanation sounded like the crafter's magic he'd only heard of in the past– and it made sense, there were plenty of legendary artisans spread between both the Æld'Norai and Fælniri populations. He was not surprised to learn the effects of such a Pact, given that context, but he found it fascinating there indeed was such a vain magic. His mind wandered to exactly how widespread it was among artists and performers, too.

"It always fascinated me how Pacts can come about and one doesn't even notice," Æhti commented, his curiosity plain in his voice.

Her question made him laugh, though the tone of it was deeply sardonic. "Oh, he already has. I've been battered so many times by surprise 'fore I could get a spell off that he finally caved," the young man explained.

"I might be able to stop anything in its tracks, but I can still be caught off guard," he said with audible annoyance.

 

[Abraia]

"I felt SOMETHING happening but at the time I could not make sense of it." She chose to leave out the circumstances that led to it.

She looked angry when he said he got battered. "and it took this long to buy you armor? That is unacceptable. Do not worry, when you come back I will make sure your armor is even better."

She was not yet at the stage where she cared for his safety but now that he wore her armor she felt responsible if he died in it. Keeping him alive was also like giving the elf the middle finger in her opinion. It would be bad for business if people started dying.

"Then you might want something else to help with things you cannot react to. Talismans can help with that but it is extremely expensive because they need alkahest for fuel. So it is not something I can give you on a whim even if I do think you need it."

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ Spring 28 year 123 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

Æhti imagined acquiring a Pact was much akin to an epiphany, with some being more obvious than others– would be hard to remain oblivious to Nekros or the like, at least. The thought occurred to him that he really ought to read up a bit more on Pacts, maybe ask Velho. He didn't want to be caught off guard by magic he'd never even heard of.

Abraia's exasperation was endearing, in a way. Æhti had long gotten used to Velho's strange attitude about his well being, along with the other ælves regarding him and those like him as having little to no value at all.

"He kept saying he'd make arrangements, but I think he kept forgetting, or becoming distracted by his work and research…I'm glad he finally did, though. For as good of a healer as he is, I'd rather avoid injury than endure it and hope for healing." He would much prefer to avoid pain, where possible.

"And given your dedication to your craft, I have no doubt I'll fare far better; I'll make sure to come back if I can get my hands on any fancier materials or alkahest for talismans and the like," he wasn't sure how much convincing it'd take for Velho to allow for such things, but he would nevertheless try.

"Ah, but…I should be going now, lest my master wonder what's keeping me. It was nice speaking to you, Abraia, and thank you again." Æhti turned to leave after bidding farewell, waving goodbye to Natea on his way out, too.

 

[Vicissitude]

꧁══════════• ༺༉{Reviewed/Canonized}༉༻•══════════꧂​

Abraia

+22 XP (~2200 WC)

Velho + Æhti

+27 XP (~2700 WC)
+Full suit of chainmail armor

Æhti needs more human friends, lol.​

꧁══════════• ༺༉ ❁ ❀ ❁ ༉༻•══════════꧂​

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